Ditto -- clothing is made thinner, too; before JCPenney changed its marketing strategy, its Cabin Creek brand was terrific -- now, chintzy. Blame our poor economy. I went to the LL Bean at my mall to check out a messenger bag and just was underwhelmed.

As they say, they sure don't make 'em like they used to.

Don't know whether you want a duffel for traveling or for taking to the gym or what, but you might go over to ebags.com and check out customer reviews for either the North Face brand or the High Sierra brand.

Also, if there's an REI store or an army/navy store near you, you should see what's in stock there. My sister purchased some very sturdy duffels for her kids in the fall (they were going off to college) at an army/navy store, and the prices were reasonable.

I've noticed this too when shopping the last couple years. When we got new luggage in February we wound up with Chaps because it was the nicest. We found out our last trip to Cali that the zipper pulls weren't tough enough to take the beating the airlines put on them as one of the zippers on mine was literally ripped to bits.
And women's clothing seems to be made of paper thin paper anymore. I have to wear a camisole underneath so my bra doesn't show through. It's maddening.

I had Ralph Lauren capris from the summer I really liked and bought two pairs--one in navy and in black, but the material was so thin, they ripped, and not in the seams either. Too bad because I really liked the style, and I expect better from RL.

Bedding the same thing. My mother had bed sheets that lasted decades!

Ugh, I was just thinking the same thing while I was looking for a robe for my daughter for Christmas. Ninety nine percent of the robes were paper thin or made of that horrible polyester plush stuff that gives me the heebie-jeebies.The terry robes already had numerous pulls just from sitting in the rack.

I finally found one nice, mostly cotton robe and it was a fortune. I checked back at the store numerous times and I swear it seemed like it was on the only rack in the entire store that never went on sale.

I finally paid full price for it but I am definitely keeping my receipt in case it falls apart.

This post was edited by deee on Thu, Dec 26, 13 at 10:30

It seems that there is no such thing as hand-me-downs any more. Any item today barely makes through one owner. Go to any thrift store and loo at the old stuff compared to the new stuff. Remember when tags in shirts, etc were sewn down both sides? Then they switched to sewing only the top, which is why everyone walked around with their tags flipped out. Now they have gone to stamping the info on, which means it washes away sooner or later. (no more sitting on the toilet and noticing your skivvies were made in Vietnam).

Everything costs twice as much and lasts about one-fourth as along. Seems like so much is just disposable, adding to our trash stream.

I was just thinking the same thing, ordered a few things from Coldwater Creek recently, and the quality has really gone downhill. Very disappointing.

I work with horses, and in the South, and I was hot natured BRFORE the hormones started making me hot, so I wear and wash a LOT of shirts. I do not like plain crew neck T-shirts, I prefer a V-neck. AND, I cannot pay 29.95 for something that may get a medicine stain on it the first time I wear it.

Old Navy carried some that I wore so long they frayed around the neck! JCP had some good ones that were not quite as sturdy, but more available in my small town. Neither are available anymore, ON has a shirt with the same label, but it is translucent, and JCP just doesn't have them any more.

I hate clothes shopping now!! In my "better" (non-barn) clothes, I just wear the ones I have, and luckily I am a good mixer-matcher.

You are not alone,daisychain01, and I complain EVERY time I go in(yes, like a crazy person, I go in , thinking something will have changed!).

Nancy

We seem to have trouble wearing jeans for more than a year. Plain ole BLUE JEANS! The holes show up in the most annoying places--crotch/zipper area mostly. Not a place that gets worn out. Not a place one can slap a patch on from the back side.The material seems to be compromised. It makes me wonder if it is recycled somehow or bleached before dyeing--we like our jeans dark, no holes and not fancy. They should wear like iron. They sure used to!!

My husband likes to get out in the coldest days and hike for miles. His warmest winter coat is about three years old and last winter the zipper broke (it's from LL Bean).

I was really annoyed because like the rest of you, would expect outerwear, underwear ... whateverwear to last more than one or two seasons. I emailed LL Bean and they sent a call tag, installed a new zipper and shipped it back all at no charge.

I was pretty impressed. So far the coat is still zipping.

I'm with dedtired in that it seems clothing, among most everything else, is made to wear out rather than be handed down. It seems odd with everyone being pushed to live green that the manufacturers are no longer making things to last.

An additional frustration is that there are some nice things available at some places but when you are shopping online it is really hard to judge quality. Supposedly "good" retailers happily sell junk right along with their nicer things.

Have you read "Overdressed. The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion"?
The author is a 20 something that is a bit too egocentric, but the information is solid and it's well researched. It's a quick read, and it explains all the crap that we find in stores now. I'm sure the concept carries across to home furnishings too.
It's not a manufacturing issue at the core, it's a consumer mentality that demands lower and lower price points and considers most everything they buy as disposable.
Until we as consumers are willing to pay for quality, the situation simply isn't going to change.
I'm afraid it's going to be another generation or two before people start valuing quality and durability over cheap prices and the ability to own too much.